Indian economy has seen some transformation in the last few years due to revolutionary economic policies such as demonetisation, GST, etc. However, it is the current pandemic which has impeded the prospective growth. Both the fiscal position of the government and balance sheets of the private sector have been deteriorating. It would be safe to admit that India now has a potentially major crisis on its hand & only with acknowledgement, analysis & focused actions can get out of the economic crunch which has been accelerated due to COVID-19.
Currently, cases in India are growing expeditiously and threaten to explode disastrously. With the private health sector under immense pressure, new investments are vital, including the training of personnel at all levels, as well modernisation of the facilities & equipment- capable of handling pandemics of this level.
There is a need to invest in public health as well- maintaining good sanitation being the primary focus. So far, under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission scheme, there has been an aggressive emphasis towards building public toilets which was neglected for years, however, even that has met limited expectations and still requires more work.
Achieving this ambitious objective requires more money to states & cities- for better implementation, timely planning, and execution. Adequate water supply & maintaining sanitation at public places reduces the impact of contagious pandemic like COVID-19 and since we could have more such outbreaks in the future, it is going to be one of the most essential tasks.
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Second, India needs to deal with its deficiencies in the domestic transport system. There is a need for massive investments to upgrade facilities across the transportation sector- railways, bus stations, taxi stands, etc. India should do everything it can to promote the safe & efficient movement of goods & services.
Third, working to enhance digital infrastructure. Amid Coronavirus, the only way some businesses have been able to run operations is due to digital literacy & availability of modern-day machines. Had this happened even a decade ago, the world would have suffered enormously. Not just the businesses, even the schools, colleges have been able to adopt & continue education via online medium. Nevertheless, there is a lot of scope to provide better access to digital infrastructure. If these things can be worked upon adequately, maybe we can have more power to fight such pandemics and our recovery post pandemic depends on these factors as well.
